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The following VSTi is more custom made for scoring purposes, hence the name “LA Scoring Strings”. But if you come to think about it, anyone who is in dire need of some warm sounding strings will want to get their hands on this VSTi.

Strings are used to fill in music, to expand the soundscape and to invoke a specific emotion, whether it is a feeling of peace and tranquility, or the sound of an approaching shark. Even your everyday musician will find use for having some amazing string samples. LA scoring strings is a brilliant option if you are in the look for a VST that both have a high standard in quality and ease of use.

You’ll probably find this VSTi on the shelf of every film scorer in the world with its 40GB library to suit your specific production need. Seamlessly link it to the midi controller of your choice and instantly transform your studio into a concert hall. When it comes to realism you won’t be able to find many other VSTi’s that compare to the perfect quality of these samples.

A big problem a lot of VSTis have is that slight delay when you link it to your controller, LA scoring strings will give you real time response without a problem.

So let’s see what this package has to offer us:

40GB library

Tons of presets

Customize your sounds with several effects

Tremolo

Real sounding legato (you’ll be shocked when you hear it)

Easy Midi synchronization

It doesn’t matter whether you are a professional film scorer or just a basement musician, this VSTi will definitely give you the ability to put some real depth in your music with the massive library. Not only do you have an ample collection of different types of strings, you can customize each sound with built in effects.

In Summary:

I have heard many different VSTi’s that focus only on strings and LA scoring strings definitely is a top competitor. The price is decently hefty which might be a demotivator for those of us that work on a shoe string budget, but if you have the cash available you will definitely benefit with this baby sitting in your arsenal. IT doesn’t matter whether you produce electronic music or pop music, having access to fine quality strings will allow you to take your music to the next level.

If you’re one of those producers that hardly ever use strings within your production, you’d probably not want to dish out $300+ dollars on this VSTi, but if you find yourself in the film industry or simply as a pop producer you will definitely find very good use for it.

I always think it is a good idea to create a base of instruments that you can use within your production and by adding LA scoring strings to your collection you will definitely find out that it is worth your while. As mentioned earlier the quality of the sound is amazing and the ease of use is just a joy. The only thing that I have a problem with is the price tag, but we all know that when you live off of music, you need to invest to have a better sound than your competitors. Consider this VSTi as an asset as opposed to spending money.

Some names in the world of VSTi’s stands out from the crowd. One of these names definitely is Urs Heckmann who developed the U-He Zebra synth. Due to the massive positive reaction to the Zebra the Tyrell was almost made instantly famous based solely on the name of the designer. But is it fair to give this synth a place in the “best synths category” based solely on the creator’s fame?

Many people did buy into the hype surrounding the Tyrell N6, but was grossly disappointed when they first tried it out. That is only because they expected something like the Zebra, but failed to recognize that this is a completely different synth. But if you take a closer look you realize that what Urs did with this one was really invest time in producing quality sound. This synth is not CPU friendly however, so it would be recommended for you to use a computer with a lot of memory and processing power. But if you already have a powerful computer…by all means get your hands on this.

Let’s pop the hood and take a look inside:

500 presets to morph your sounds into something truly unique

Brilliant sound quality

Great preset layout to easily find that exact preset you have been looking for

Very unique sounding synth that will blow your mind and eardrums away

This synth definitely is one of those VST instruments that is definitely worth it if you can afford the CPU usage. We personally think that this synth would work best on some grimy bass lines and can be used for genres like garage and Dubstep with the greatest of ease. There is one thing that does count against this synth and we believe it might have been the reason why so many people turned out disappointed with the final product. Tyrell lacks something that most people would have thought to be included as basic features, things like reverb, chorus and so on.

Final Thoughts:

This synth definitely has a unique sound that it produces at an extremely high quality for being a free VSTi synth. Now, you can only get this VSTi if you have a membership at amazona.de but I’m also sure that there are certain sites that host this plugin as well. Yet in the hopes of supporting these developers it would probably be best to get a membership since they have an ample selection of other free synths available as well.

Now a lot of people will continue to believe that this synth is not as good as it was hyped up to be due to the fact that it lacks those basic effects such a reverb and chorus. But if you have access to external devices that can do that for you, this program will be a brilliant addition to your arsenal. Once more we have to point out that not everyone will be able to freely use this synth due to the fact that it is a monster on CPU usage. But for anyone who can support this massive synth and want to find unique sounding bass riffs, this is probably a golden synth that you will use over and over again. It really comes down to the individual and the sound wanted to achieve.

In the world of music production it is always a good thing to know about as many free VSTis you can get your hands on. Not only because it can expand your sound capabilities, but also because music software and hardware can be quite expensive. Thus we have decided to outline some of the more famous Free VSTi synths out there, giving over all review and a general sense of how you could use it. Obviously your own creativity will be the limit to what you can do with these synths, but a little bit of help didn’t hurt anyone.

Synth 1

Some people swear by this synth, claiming that it is one of the best ever created. This synths entire design was inspired by the Clavia Nord Lead 2 Red synth, one of the first digital adaptations to a real synth. With more than 9000 free preset downloads you can just imagine how much power you will obtain by getting your hands on this free VSTi synth.

Some people claim however that the GUI of the synth is a bit crowded, but that is mainly due to the constant updates that they do on the synth. You can be sure that this synth isn’t a “what you see is what you get” deal, but rather is in a constant evolution to better its output.

So what does the synth have to offer us? Let’s take a look inside:

2 Oscillators (Sine and Square waves)

Signal processing effects (FM Modulation. Ring Modulation

Four types of filters with distortion features as well

2 LFO’s

Arpeggiator (For all those guys and gals that want to give some arpeggio to their sounds)

Tempo Delay

Legato mode

128 built in presets

16 notes polyphony

With an overall sound quality that is incredibly reliable you will find that Synth 1 is a perfect free VSTi to be added into anyone’s musical arsenal. One characteristic that stands out from this synth is its low CPU usage. A lot of time people try to use synths only to find that it has eaten up all of your CPU which limits you in production. The Synth1 can be re-used up to twenty times while still leaving your computer ready to do some serious production.

Also the 128 built in presets are just the tip of the iceberg. With 9000 presets created by the massive VSTi community we can surely know that when we have this baby in our grips we will have ample access to thousands of uniquely created presets which will ultimately lift our production value significantly.

My End Thoughts:

Many people are willing to spend huge sums of money on their VST’s mainly because we rely on it to make our music reach that “next” level. Yet before dishing out your hard earned cash you should always dive into trying out these free VSTis. Not only will you find that it does compete with the ones that has a price tag, but also that it can benefit your music in a way that you have never imagined. There is absolutely no risk involved with this synth because in essence…it’s free. This is a highly recommended synth that should be used by everybody at least once. But if you have access to external devices that can do that for you, such as Pioneer DJ hardware then this program will be a brilliant addition to your arsenal.

You might have worked on your sets for days at a time, you might have invested into the right equipment and software, yet still you only have 30 fans and most of them are friends and family. The question then that needs to be answered is how do you get more fans?

In the following segment we’ll be discussing some strategies you could implement to increase that little number of fans into an army of loyal followers.

Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus

It is essential for any public figure to have at least one, if not all of these social networks. You need to be able to funnel your fans, give them a direct access point to who you are. Remember that people want to know the genius behind the music, and these free social networks will give you that option.

You can’t just open them and think people will find you; you will have to go out and create “back links” that will direct people to your groups. This means you’ll have to become involved in the DJ community and place links that direct people back to your sites. For instance if you comment on a forum you could place your Twitter tag at the bottom. People with Twitter will most probably follow you if you have something interesting to say.

Youtube

Youtube is the second biggest search engine after Google, which means that people spend a ridiculous amount of time on it. Thus if you can create content that will attract people, such as tutorials, music videos and concerts you will be able to get a large number of potential fans visiting your videos. Obviously from this medium you’ll re-direct people back to your Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus…and obviously your website and your store.

If you learn how to effectively use these free tools to your advantage you will find that you might be able to quit your day job and dedicate all your time to your art.

This doesn’t mean that the moment you load up a video you’ll go viral. The trick is to play around with the elements of marketing and to see if you can grab the attention of the masses. Think of certain “hot spots” throughout the year; Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, Halloween etc, and use it to market certain concepts. Most internet marketers understand that if you bank on these prime dates you’ll definitely increase your traffic.

Conclusion

More Traffic means more potential fans, more potential fans mean more revenue and in turn you can invest more time to perfect your sound. The bottom line is that if you are willing to do the hard work, you’ll be able to play full houses all the time and make enough money to live comfortably on your art. Anything is possible in this day and age, and nobody can become somebody in a matter of days…if all the elements are in place.

For a great example of digital marketing in the online retail space, I recommend checking out this DJ Decks Store here.